The Devil Has a Part-Minor
by CharryWotter
Summary: After an accident with magic, Urushihara is de-aged to a toddler. Strangely enough, his mind hasn't changed. When the police intervene and Urushihara is forced into preschool, what will the ex-NEET do? Will he ever get his body back? Or will he be stuck in the public school system until he graduates? Rated T to be safe
1. The Demon Arrives at the Station

This story will be very strange. With Urushihara's mind in a toddler's body, anything can happen...

...

Urushihara Hanzo smirked delightedly as he began to soak up magic from the pedestrian distress leaking into the one room apartment he shared with Maou and Ashiya. Soon he'd have enough magic to extend his wings.

However, something was off. Instead of flowing into him, Urushihara could almost feel the distress whirling around him. It began moving faster and faster, making him dizzy just to watch.

Then with a bang, the human emotions rushed into Urushihara in a new way, and he collapsed on the floor.

…

When Maou got home from work, he noticed the apartment was empty. Ashiya was at the library for the day, so that wasn't strange, but Urushihara was a self proclaimed hermit. What trouble could the fallen angel have gotten himself into this time?

A small groan came from the bathroom, and Maou rushed over. "Urushihara! Are you hurt?" he called, but there was no response.

Finally, Maou opened the door. Inside the room lay a toddler.

The toddler wore a small pair of shorts and a purple t-shirt. His hair was purple, longer in the back than in the front.

With a dawning horror, Maou realized. "Is that really you, Urushihara?"

The toddler groaned again and opened its violet eyes, sitting up and looking around confusedly. "What happened?" he asked in a small voice.

"I don't know," Maou said slowly in his babyish tone. "Nice to meet you. I'm a friend."

Maou smiled a winning smile and held his arms out for the toddler to hug. Yeah, he knew it was kind of awkward, but he was the devil! He didn't have any experience with children!

Toddler Urushihara rolled his eyes. "Being your usual idiotic self, I see, Maou. I guess the human emotions just made me pass out. Huh. I was sure something…bad had happened. My voice is pretty high, though. Maybe I'm getting sick." He put a pudgy hand to his throat.

The words, coming out of a kid's mouth, stunned Maou and he sat there dumbfounded before bursting out into laughter.

"What?" Urushihara asked skeptically. "Tell me, what is funny this time?"

Unable to explain, Maou reached out and plucked Urushihara up, holding him in front of the mirror.

Urushihara screamed. "Is that me?" he asked, in a panicky little kid's tone.

Maou nodded, biting his lip to keep from bursting into more laughter.

Just then, Ashiya returned from the library. "Hello, sire," he greeted, putting down his book bag. "Hello—"

Ashiya stopped and turned slowly to face the bathroom, where Maou still stood holding the toddler Urushihara. "What has occurred? Urushihara?! What have you done this time?"

"Jeez, relax," the toddler said, squirming out of Maou's arms and trotting over to his computer. "I didn't do anything. There must be a way to fix this," he muttered, typing into the computer as fast as his little hands could manage.

Ashiya struggled to form a coherent sentence. "You…what…young…gone…Sire…can't…"

Maou watched him with a grin.

Finally, Ashiya took a hold of himself. "I'll make dinner," he decided, and began cooking with a flourish.

….

The next day, Maou left for work early, unwilling to spend another minute looking at Urushihara. Sure, it had been funny at first, but after a while, it was just creepy.

Ashiya felt the same, and decided to go to the library. "Don't get into trouble!" he commanded.

"I won't, I won't," Urushihara said, his toddler eyes never leaving his computer.

"And don't leave the house."

"Whatever, mom."

…

Around noon, Urushihara had just about had it with his computer. Typing as a little kid was hard, and the searches never yielded results.

So, pointedly ignoring Ashiya, Urushihara set out for a walk.

It was funny how many people gave strange looks at Urushihara, and if anyone approached him, he'd intentionally mess with them.

"Honey, are you lost?" A woman approached him with concern in her eyes.

This wasn't the first time he'd been asked that, and Urushihara had long since mastered pretending to be a toddler. "My name's not Honey," he said, scratching his head. "And I'm just going for a walk!" Urushihara smiled proudly, making sure to keep his face clear of all signs of mirth.

A sly smirk began creeping up his face as the woman asked where his parents were, and Urushihara had to cover it with a hand.

As it had been with the last few encounters, the woman decided to phone the police. That was when Urushihara would stun her with a full adult-like sentence, his voice dripping with sarcasm, such as, "I'm incredibly sorry for the mix-up, Ma'am, but I really must be heading on my way. It was absolutely wonderful to converse with you!"

Then he'd make his escape.

After a few hours, Urushihara was getting tired. His little legs couldn't get him as far as normal, and even messing with adults was growing old.

As he headed home, a man stopped him. Urushihara sighed, ready to play his little charade once more, but the man was already on the phone.

"—lost, by the looks of it. Yeah, thanks. I'll wait here with him."

He'd called the cops! It was always a possibility, but most adults in this world played the part of concern and didn't actually act.

Urushihara made to escape, but the man grabbed his hand, and his new toddler body was powerless.

Urushihara struggled and called the man a few choice words before giving up.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the man reassured, thinking the little boy was running out of fear. "I just want to help you find your parents."

A police car showed up a few minutes later.

"Ashiya will destroy me," Urushihara muttered as he was taken to the station. "And there will be nothing left to bury."

…...

So, what did you think? I'll try to update soon :)


	2. The Officer Stays Late for Work Reasons

Thank you, 3mee, ilicsm, Animegeneral17, and wolfgirl12390 for your amazing reviews! It's great to hear that you like it :)

…

"I will destroy you!" Ashiya yelled once he reached the police station. "And there will be nothing left to bury!"

"Sir," a worried police officer intervened, putting a protective arm around Urushihara's shoulders from where she sat beside him on the bench. "I think your toddler just got lost. It was a mistake."

Urushihara shot a smug look at Ashiya, which was missed by the police woman and only served to make Ashiya madder than before.

"I specifically told him to remain inside!" Ashiya said, attempting to keep his voice from becoming a shout. Turning to Urushihara, he added, "The one time I tell you to stay inside is the one time you forget that you are a socially awkward hermit who never leaves the house?"

Urushihara found it funny the way the police lady's arm tightened around his shoulders at the words.

Sure, he did feel kinda bad that he'd gotten himself taken to the police station and needed Ashiya to pick him up, but the majority of the situation was hilarious.

Suddenly, the police officer had a thought. "You said he never leaves the house?" she asked, and Ashiya nodded. "How old is your son?"

"My son?" Ashiya spluttered, and Urushihara fought to keep from laughing at the bewilderment and mortification on his face. "He's…"

Urushihara had to save him, noticing that Ashiya could only think to say 18, which was Urushihara's fake age in the human world. "I'm four," he said, trying to emit the brash pride that most little kids had about their ages.

Ashiya weakly smiled under the officer's glare. "Ah, yes, four. Urushihara is four years old."

"Shouldn't your son be going to preschool?" the officer inquired.

Urushihara mentally slapped his forehead. He should have said he was three years old. Then he wouldn't have to go to school, and the police would have forgotten about him in a year.

Ashiya began to splutter again. Luckily, at that moment, Maou arrived, having left work only to find an empty apartment and an angry voicemail from Ashiya.

"Urushihara!" he said in an irritated tone. "You're such a pain! I'm going to take away your PASTA for a week! Causing Ashiya and me such trouble!"

Urushihara began to open his mouth to protest, but the police officer spoke first. "Are you Mr. Ashiya's…partner?" she asked.

Maou's face grew redder than a tomato, and Urushihara couldn't stifle his laugh. "No, we're just friends," he weakly said, making sure not to use the word servant.

"Who live together," Urushihara muttered.

"Maou is Urushihara's legal guardian," Ashiya drily explained. "He was at work when we got the call, so I came in his place."

"Mr. Maou, are you aware that your child should be in preschool?"

"Preschool?" Maou snorted. It was a question he'd been expecting before coming to the station, so he'd made a fake story for Urushihara. "Not yet. Urushihara's only three years old."

Ashiya turned to Maou in alarm as the police woman narrowed her eyes. "I thought you said he was four," she said to him.

Maou's eyes grew wide as he realized his mistake. "Uh, no, he is four! That's right. Silly me!"

"You didn't know your son's age?"

Urushihara knew he had to save Maou and Ashiya. After all, the whole situation was technically his fault. "I had my birthday yesterday!"

"Well, happy birthday." The police officer's smile faded as she turned to Maou and Ashiya. "You have to enroll him in preschool, or CPS will come and it will no longer be your call."

Urushihara wilted. He'd had no idea getting taken to the police station would have resulted in such an extreme situation. On second thought, he should have known.

"Fine." Ashiya said through his teeth. "He'll go to preschool this year. But Urushihara, when we get home, you'll wish you'd never left Olba."

Although the police woman threw a glance of worry and concern at Urushihara, he simply hopped off the bence and rolled his eyes. "I have to go to preschool," he grouched. "There is nothing worse you could do to me."

And with that, Maou and Ashiya walked out, leaving Urushihara to try to keep up with his little legs.

…

Later that night, the police woman sat in her office with her phone to her ear. "Brother, I have to do something," she said in desperation. "That boy seemed to be living in a very unhealthy household. They didn't even know his age!"

"You can't do anything," the tinny voice replied. "Without proof of actual harm coming to the child, the law won't be on your side."

"He'll be in preschool in two weeks; summer's almost over." The police woman rubbed her temple. "With luck, he'll be in your class."

"That's right. There aren't many preschools around this area."

The police officer smiled. "And you're the best teacher out of them all," she told her brother.

"Thanks, sis," he replied. "If the kid's in my class, I'll look out for him."

"You're an angel."

"I know."

…

The tiny apartment was filled to the brim with accusation that night.

"Why would you go out?" Ashiya exclaimed as he violently unrolled his futon. "I would have thought that even you had more sense than leaving the house as a toddler!"

"How would I have known that the people of this world would call the police? And you think that I want to go to preschool?" Urushihara shot back, sliding into his box.

"Guys, give it a rest," Maou said, putting down his toothbrush and grabbing his own futon. "No matter how this came about, it's done. There's no way to go back now. We should just focus on getting Urushihara's body back to normal."

"Which we could be doing if he wasn't going to be in preschool in two weeks," Ashiya grumbled.

"It's not my fault there's a law about that!" Urushihara said, his tiny voice making the statement sound ridiculous.

"Do you know how much money school supplies will be? No, of course you didn't think about it! This is worse than when you bought all that junk that couldn't be returned!" Ashiya crossed his arms.

"I bought that from a company you worked for!" Urushihara said, attempting to cross his pudgy toddler arms.

Maou gave up trying to play mediator. He turned off the light, placing his pillow on top of his head to drown out the argument.

And he hoped against hope that Urushihara would soon get back to normal, or he'd never get any sleep!

…

Preschool is coming soon…

And what will happen when Emi and Chiho find out?

Please review!


	3. The Hero Goes on a Playdate w Her Junior

Thanks for all the favs and follows :D

iWriteStoriesSometimes: Wow. Thank you so much for your review! It's amazing to hear how much you liked the story!

3mee: You're right, it will get more interesting…*mysterious music*

Guest: I bet he would be pretty cute!

wolfgirl12390: That would be pretty embarrassing! :P

…...

"Oh no!" Ashiya panicked one morning, causing little Urushihara to turn his head from the computer in alarm and Maou to choke on his breakfast. "Preschool is tomorrow!"

"Relax, Ashiya," Maou said from his place at the table. "We've already been through the rules with Urushihara these past weeks. Don't let—"

"—the others know that I'm actually mature and behave, I know." Urushihara finished, slowly turning back to the Internet search that was, as always, yielding no results.

"It's not that!" Ashiya exclaimed, smacking his hand on the kitchen counter where he stood. "We haven't gotten Urushihara any school supplies!"

Maou thought it over as he chewed a piece of cucumber. "What would he need, anyway?"

Ashiya began pacing. "Lunchbox, backpack, crayons, more clothes, and much more! We can't send him with nothing! We'll look bad!"

"Go to the store, then," Toddler Urushihara pointed a pudgy finger at the door. "It's not like you've never been before."

"That's the problem," Ashiya grumbled, plopping down beside Maou. "I refuse to leave you home alone again and Sire has work in—" He checked his watch. "—one hour. That's hardly enough time to get to the store and back!"

Urushihara crossed his little arms. Since the police incident, Maou had been the only one to leave the house. Urushihara wasn't allowed to be inside alone, and he certainly wasn't allowed to be outside. At least the week and a half stuck inside without his PASTA had sharpened his typing skills in his new body, but no answers about his "condition" were found online.

Maou's groan broke the silence of the apartment. "Emi's off work today. I'll get her to come over."

"Not her!" Urushihara protested in his tiny voice. "Why can't Suzuno do it? Even Chiho would be better than Emi! She hates me!"

"Simple." Maou said. "Chiho has work and Suzuno left for Ente Isla after the fight with Sariel, so Emi's the only available person We don't know anyone else in this world enough to trust them."

"I don't want her seeing me like this!"

Unfortunately, as always, Urushihara was ignored.

…

(One hour later)

"—and no matter how much he whines, begs, lies, or cheats, do not let Urushihara outside of these four walls." Ashiya finished.

Emi Yusa rolled her eyes. "I don't even know why I agreed to this," she thought to herself. "This is a completely ridiculous situation for a Hero to be caught in, and it's been ages since I've even spoken to any of these idiots." In the real world, she said, "Fine. I understand."

"Thanks. You're a big help. See you guys this afternoon!" Maou called, bowing and retreating.

Ashiya, not wanting to be stuck with both Urushihara and Emi for longer than necessary, left as well.

Once both men had made it down the stairs, Urushihara had his PASTA out. They'd both forbade him from playing as punishment, but Emi didn't need to know that…

"What are you doing?" Emi cried out, pulling it from Urushihara's hands.

"Hey, I was playing with that!" he objected, glowering as best as he could when Emi put it on top of the fridge. The sad part was, even in his real body, he wouldn't have been able to reach the videogame up there. Urushihara's height was a great source of irritation sometimes.

"Well, no more. You think I want to babysit you?" Emi asked, irritated. "At least spend the time doing something useful."

"What are you going to do, then?" The toddler asked in his best teasing voice. "Your version of useful is stalking Maou."

Emi whipped out a book, ignoring his jab. "I intend to read."

"What am I going to do, then?" Urushihara grouched, not wanting to keep trying to find himself a cure.

"You have school tomorrow," Emi suggested in a less haughty voice. "Practice."

Urushihara looked dumbly at Emi. "Practice?"

Once again, Emi reached into her bag. This time, instead of a book (Urushihara thanked his lucky stars), she brought out a stack of paper and a box of crayons and placed them on the table.

"How big is that purse on the inside?" Urushihara asked in amazement. In a snider voice, he added, "And you just happen to carry little kid school supplies with you?"

The Hero huffed. "When Maou told me on the phone that I'd be babysitting de-aged you, he conveniently forgot to mention that you are the same person in a different body. I was expecting a cute little kid, not a sarcastic demon who looks like a cute little kid!"

"Fine, I get it," Urushihara said, taking a seat at the table next to Emi. "I guess I'll try to draw like a little kid?"

"Go ahead. It's not like _I'll_ be using the crayons or paper."

Those were the last words spoken aloud for the next few hours. Urushihara and Emi had never been remotely close.

…

It was a relief for both of them when Ashiya returned from the store laden with supplies.

"How did it go? I hope nothing too horrible happened?" Ashiya asked as he set down his shopping bags.

"It could have been worse," Emi grudgingly admitted before quickly departing.

"What are these?" Ashiya asked as he picked up the stack of used paper.

Urushihara looked up from his recent bad drawing. "I had to get used to dulling my talent."

It was very true that Urushihara had drawing talent, Ashiya realized as he looked closely at the drawings. He wondered how he hadn't known before.

Fliping through, Ashiya realized that each one was steadily sloppier and more cheerful. While the first drawing was a highly detailed sketch of the fallen demon generals (Ashiya couldn't even comprehend how toddler fingers could draw that with crayons), the last one was a simple brown…puppy?

"It's a horse," Urushihara drawled when he noticed Ashiya's confusion. "I guess I reached my goal, then."

"If only you could master all necessary tasks that easily."

Urushihara threw his crayon down. "Like what?"

Ashiya continued to speak in his usual dry tone. "Returning yourself to normal. If you even want to, that is."

"Of course I do!" Urushihara jumped up, which hardly changed his height. "That was uncalled for!"

"Anyway, you should look through the school supplies and try on your new outfits. I'll prepare dinner."

And that was what they were still doing when Maou returned from work.

Later that night, as Urushihara lay curled up in his box, he couldn't stop thinking. How much _did_ he really want to get back to normal? It wasn't like Maou or Ashiya ever liked him. This way, with school, he'd be out of their hair.

 _What am I thinking?_ Urushihara turned over. _Of course I want to get back to normal. The problem is that I'm just a pain to Maou and Ashiya if I hang around all day. But now I need to be babysat. No matter what I do, I'm inconveniencing someone._

Maou and Ashiya would be much happier without him. Emi and Chiho would be much happier without him. Maybe it would have been better if Olba hadn't saved him. Maybe it would have been better to allow his own death.

Tears slipped down Urushihara's cheeks until he fell into an uneasy sleep.

If only he knew how untrue it all was.

…

Poor Urushihara! I couldn't help but add some angst! Don't worry, though, someone may soon get through to him!

And how will he survive preschool?

Please review!


	4. Preschooler Experiences Teacher Warmth

Thank you, 3mee and DRAMAticallyYoursTruly for reviewing! You guys are the best!

…...

The police officer's brother took a deep breath before looking at his class list for the year as he stood in his new classroom. The kids were due in half an hour, and he wanted to know if the kid his sister had told him about was there.

"I remember his name very clearly, almost like it's seared in my brain," she had told him after meeting the kid. "It's—"

 _Urushihara._

The name was stated clearly on the list the brother held in his hands.

 _Urushihara Hanzo._

"Well," the teacher said, taking a deep breath. "My work is all cut out for me."

He took a seat in his desk and waited.

…...

Urushihara threw a big…fit that morning. There was no other word for it. Maybe the fallen angel was no preschooler, Ashiya thought, but he already knew how to act like one.

"I refuse to go to preschool!" Urushihara insisted, refusing to go out the door. "Maou, why are you letting Ashiya take me?"

"I might've stopped him, but _someone_ got the police involved," Maou replied nonchalantly as he waved at them. "There's nothing I can do now."

So in 30 minutes, Urushihara found himself being forced into school. "You can leave now," he said to Ashiya when they reached the edge of the school. At Ashiya's dubious expression, Urushihara hurriedly added," I'm not gonna run away, I promise!"

"You better not," Ashiya growled. "I'll be working on finding a way to get you back to normal."

"Thanks." Urushihara muttered.

With that, Ashiya departed.

When Urushihara entered his classroom, ten other kids were already seated on a rug, with the teacher sitting at a desk at the front of the room.

"Welcome," the teacher said when he saw Urushihara walk in. "I'm Mr. Kato. What's your name?"

 _You are a happy toddler,_ Urushihara told himself. "I'm Urushihara!" he exclaimed in a voice that may have been more than a little sarcastic, but was mostly hidden in his little kid vocal cords.

He sat down on the rug, trying to ignore the searching expression Mr. Kato was sending him. "Great, my teacher is a weirdo," he muttered, making sure to keep away from the real preschoolers whose antics were already getting on his nerves.

When all the kids had arrived and the bell rang, Mr. Kato gave a more formal introduction and had all the children introduce themselves and say their favorite activity.

"I'm Rei!" a little girl in pigtails sitting near the front exclaimed when it was her turn. "I love playing with my dollies!"

"My name is Ichiro!" an equally enthusiastic young boy in a red shirt proclaimed. "My favorite thing is playing with cars with my baby brother!"

"Hi, my name is Yoko!" A girl wearing a little pink skirt said. "I like playing with cars, too! I don't have a little brother, though."

After a few more kids, it was finally Urushihara's turn. Everyone turned to look at him.

"I'm Hanzo," he said in an apathetic voice. Really, he tried to seem like a little kid. Putting on a very false wide smile, he continued. "I love to…go on my computer."

….

The kids accepted Urushihara's words easily, but Mr. Kato didn't listen as the rest of the kids spoke, instead choosing to surreptitiously watch Urushihara. It was pretty unhealthy that a little kid's favorite activity would be going on a computer.

It was also pretty obvious that the kid was unhappy. That could just be first jitters, though.

Mr. Kato also found it worrying the way Urushihara didn't listen to any other kid speak. He seemed lost in a haze of his own.

…

The next few hours were spent doing different crafts and get-to-know-me exercises. While most of the preschoolers loved them, Urushihara hated them.

"Hanzo! Come play with me!" Rei offered to him during their short recess break.

Trying to be polite, Urushihara called back, "No thanks!" It almost physically hurt to act so happy and carefree.

Rei would not take no for an answer. She stood up from the sandbox in their small playground and skipped over to the bench where Urushihara sat. "Come on, I know a lot of sandbox games," she offered, not noticing Urushihara's glare. "We could play pretend!"

"I'm good," Urushihara insisted, his little voice managing to convey his building anger.

Still, Rei didn't notice. "Come on! You can be the daddy and I'll be the mommy!"

Urushihara couldn't believe the nerve and obliviousness of the little girl. He crossed his arms and intensified his glare. "Are you dumb? Get lost!"

Finally Rei noticed his anger. It would be hard not to; the emotion built up in Urushihara from his de-aging was radiating off him in waves. Eyes widening, Rei began to cry, and she ran immediately to Mr. Kato.

"Hanzo's being mean!" she sobbed to the teacher.

Mr. Kato knelt. "What happened?" he asked.

After an exceedingly detailed report told between sobs, Mr. Kato understood the situation. He'd been afraid that Urushihara would most likely have issues when it came to socializing.

He noticed that the boy in question was still sitting on the bench alone, and walked over to get the other side of the story (not that he expected there to be any new facts). Mr. Kato would probably need to discipline Urushihara, and maybe tell his parents. Mr. Kato knew it would be hard to break the news to Urushihara.

…

Urushihara looked up when his teacher joined him on the bench. "What is it?" he asked, hoping that Rei hadn't tattled. She probably had, though. Preschoolers were like that.

"What happened with you and Rei?" the teacher gently asked, and Urushihara groaned.

He didn't want special attention lest his secret be discovered, and this definitely qualified as "special attention."

"She wanted me to play with her." Urushihara tried to sound as petulant as he could when his teacher furrowed his brow. "I didn't want to play."

When Mr. Kato replied, "Did you try asking her nicely?" Urushihara could barely stop himself from snapping _Do you think I'm stupid?_

Instead, Urushihara only nodded his head. "She wouldn't listen."

"Just tell me next time," Mr. Kato suggested. "I would help you gently tell her that you want to be alone."

Urushihara forced his face to light up, as if in hope and excitement. "Really? Okay!"

It kind of worried and irritated him that Mr. Kato didn't leave, but rather turned back to watching the other children play. _Maybe he's still going to punish me_. Urushihara thought. _Ashiya would kill me if I told him I got in trouble on the first day. If I want him to help me get back to my old body, I have to stay on his good side._

Urushihara smirked as a thought struck him. _I'll guilt Mr. Kato into taking away my punishment!_

"Mr. Kato?" he asked, trying to look and sound like a scared, bashful little kid.

The teacher quickly turned, concerned. It seemed like he'd bought the act.

"I'm sorry." Urushihara dropped his eyes to the bench and wiped a pretend tear away with his tiny fingers. He then looked up at Mr. Kato pleadingly. "Please don't tell my parents," he whispered.

When Mr. Kato comfortingly smiled, Urushihara felt immensely proud of his acting skills.

"I won't," the teacher promised. "As long as you ask Rei nicely next time."

Urushihara nodded and turned back to his own thoughts. Unfortunately, Mr. Kato didn't leave like he'd hoped.

They sat together in silence until recess time was over.

…

Mr. Kato felt deeply shaken after his small talk with Urushihara.

His sister had already given him the suspicion that the kid had bad guardians, but now there was proof: Urushihara didn't want his parents knowing he'd gotten in trouble.

Sure, most kids wouldn't, but there was real fear in Urushihara's eyes. Fear that couldn't be faked by such a young child. Young children couldn't act to save their lives.

With his new knowledge, Mr. Kato knew that it was up to him to save his student.

Even if it took the whole year.

…

So that was the first day of school!

That was one of my favorite chapters to write so far :)

If you enjoyed reading, please review! I love hearing what you think!


	5. The Devil and Ashiya Save Urushihara

Thank you for the positive reviews Guest, LadyNoirShipping, 3mee, pikaree1, DRAMAticallyYoursTruly, and cookiebadger! You guys are the best; I loved reading what you thought about this :D

…

The rest of the week, Mr. Kato watched Urushihara closely. Although there were no more incidents, he couldn't help but feel worried as he saw how antisocial and separated Urushihara was from the other kids.

It reminded him of himself when he was younger.

"And I had my sister. Urushihara has no one," Mr. Kato muttered as once again, Urushihara refused to talk to anyone during recess time. It hurt that he had no proof to go to the police with.

Mr. Kato would only need a little bit of evidence, and then his sister could pull strings from inside the department. She, too, remembered how terrible their childhood had been. In fact, it was the reason she went into police work and he went into teaching.

Now their shared experience would finally mean something.

They always had made a great team.

…...

On Friday, Urushihara smiled wickedly as he packed his lunch in the morning before school. Ashiya had gone to the store the night before, and he'd gotten Pocky sticks.

Earlier in the week, there were no good snacks, and Urushihara always ended out packing some gross healthy thing and throwing it out when no one watched him.

Today, he would feast.

At lunchtime, Urushihara pulled out his snack with his tiny fingers, smiling. Even though he still didn't know how to get back to normal, there were some things his preschooler body could enjoy just as much as his normal human form.

Of course, Mr. Kato had to ruin that, too.

The man had been watching him like a hawk the whole week, for reasons that Urushihara could only guess. It tired him out to keep up the little kid act so much, and he took to avoiding everyone when he could.

So he stiffened as the teacher walked up to him.

"Urushihara," Mr. Kato began, "is that your only lunch?"

Urushihara refrained from rolling his eyes. If nothing else, pretending to be a preschooler would cure the habits that Ashiya always called him out on. "Yeah, so?" he said, trying to at least not let the irritation leak into his words.

"It's not very healthy," the teacher said, sitting down on the bench where Urushihara sat alone.

After the mess with Rei on the first day, the kids had all noticed that there was something different about Urushihara. They were more perceptive than his overbearing teacher, and all gave him a wide berth.

Luckily, that meant Urushihara getting a bench to himself at lunch. Unluckily, it meant that whenever Mr. Kato singled him out, there were no little kids to draw the attention away from Urushihara.

Like now.

Thinking quickly, Urushihara offered an excuse, hoping that the teacher would leave him alone. "Well, my parents are okay with me eating it."

Mr. Kato frowned and didn't get up. "Do you want me to give you some better food for today? Then on Monday you can ask your parents to pack you something better."

Urushihara almost laughed at the thought of sweetly asking Maou's "househusband" to make him a nice lunch. He pictured the heart-shaped seaweed that Suzuno had given Maou-made lovingly by Ashiya for him-and smirked, but quickly thrust the picture from his mind when he remembered Mr. Kato was still there.

"Um, I'm fine for today, thanks," he said in his politest innocent voice. In a more sarcastic snark, he added, "And I'll _absolutely_ ask Ashiya for a better lunch, _wonderful_ idea, Mr. Kato!"

Mr. Kato's frown deepened as he picked up on the sarcasm, but he left without a word, so Urushihara considered it a win.

…

Urushihara was completely oblivious to the misunderstanding that deepened as Mr. Kato went back to his own lunch.

 _The kid's parents obviously don't care about his health,_ he pondered as he reminded Ichiro to throw away his trash in the can when he was done.

 _I'll bet he hasn't been taught about nutrition,_ Mr. Kato thought when he broke up Yoko and Rei's argument.

 _Would talking to the parents only make things worse for him?_ The teacher wondered as he brought all the kids in.

Urushihara was the only thing on his mind for the rest of the day.

…

That night, as Urushihara played on his PASTA and Maou lounged around, Ashiya made a breakthrough.

True to his words, he'd been researching Urushihara's condition all week at the library, taking home books to read even after the library closed.

Urushihara truly appreciated the sentiment, but he secretly thought that if there was an answer, it would be online and Ashiya was wasting his time.

Then Ashiya stumbled upon it.

"Listen to this!" he called triumphantly to his master and the toddler. " _Oxidation is the main cause of aging, and there are many scientists working on a possible way to slow it down. In fact, there already exist antioxidant creams and products that help reverse the process. Unfortunately, there are no known ways to truly deage someone, but one day, we are confident that a way will be found._ "

Maou groaned. "In English, Alciel, please."

"So you want to 'oxidize' me?" Urushihara asked snarkily, trying to quell his hope lest he be disappointed. "What does that even mean?"

Ashiya looked up from his book, annoyed. "I would go into the science of it, but I don't want to bore Sire and your little brain wouldn't understand. Basically, oxidation is caused by oxygen damaging your cells and their membranes."

"So if I breathe oxygen…oh wait, I already am! And I'm totally back to normal!" Urushihara was pleased to realize that his hope was completely gone, and he found it easy to slip back behind his protective barriers.

"That still doesn't explain how he was de-aged in the first place," Maou remarked.

"My guess is that when Urushihara absorbed the negative human emotions, he accidentally also absorbed melatonin, the chemical in the brain that works against all that oxidation. Because Urushihara isn't human, his body absorbed the chemical and shrunk him. His brain luckily stayed unaffected by the change in his body cells." Ashiya had gone back to flipping idly through the library book.

Urushihara shuddered as he remembered how the emotions had flooded into him. Ashiya's description certainly seemed plausible, and if he thought hard, he could almost remember the bitter feel of the chemical flooding his brain. That could just be hopeful thinking, though. He chose to believe it anyway.

Because if they knew the cause, they could find a cure.

It was only a matter of time.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face for the first time since coming to Earth.

….

Yay! It ended on a happy note!

This chapter was a lot of fun, mainly because I had to actually do research and that always makes my fanfictions feel important and accurate :)

Urushihara is closer to seeking a cure…But what happens when he requests to meet Urushihara's parents? Expect more misunderstandings next chapter!


	6. The Devil Climbs the Stairway to School

Thanks for all the amazing reviews!

I'mAYaoiFanGirl and : I'm super glad that you're enjoying this! Here's another chapter for you :)

Nowaki Kamijou: It's awesome that this is your first Part-Timer fic, and even better that you like it!

pikaree1: Your review honestly made me laugh super hard. I certainly hope that this chapter is as good as your review omg :P

BloodiedCoreOfHope: Here's some Maou for you…

…

Maou got the call on Sunday afternoon. "A routine meeting of the parents? For preschool?" he asked into his phone, and Ashiya looked up from where he was doing the dishes. "Yeah, no, no problem. I'll see you on Monday."

"Who was that, Sire?" Ashiya questioned.

Maou stretched and put his phone down on the table. "Mr. Kato. He wants to meet with me after school to talk about Urushihara."

Hearing his name brought the toddler to attention immediately, and he whipped his head away from the computer. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"I know you didn't," Maou answered, annoyed. "Mr. Kato says they do it with all of the parents with bright children."

"It must have been a mistake, then, calling for Urushihara," Ashiya drily noted, and Urushihara marveled at the way he could be sarcastic without sarcasm in his voice.

"It's cool. I got this," Maou said confidently, and they left it at that.

…

After preschool, both Maou and Ashiya entered Urushihara's classroom. Once the kids except Urushihara were all gone, they greeted Mr. Kato and took seats at Mr. Kato's desk.

"And you're completely sure Urushihara didn't cause trouble this time?" Ashiya casually slipped in.

Urushihara glared at him as Mr. Kato shook his head.

"This is just a meeting to discuss your child's progress and future opportunities," the teacher replied smoothly.

Maou snorted. "Progress."

Ashiya shook his head. "Future opportunities."

Urushihara sulked. "Whatever."

It was clear Mr. Kato had no idea how to respond to that, so Maou took charge as if he was in MgRonalds. "Ashiya, why don't you take Urushihara home? He shouldn't listen to this, but I don't trust him on his own."

Ashiya knew better than to defy a direct order from King Satan himself, but as he led Urushihara out of the room, he still let out a beseeching "Why me?"

Once the demon and the toddler were gone, Mr. Kato turned to the matter at hand. "Have you been thinking about sending your child to any summer camps or programs to enhance his mental capabilities? He sure seems bright enough."

Maou snorted again, picturing the mature Urushihara stuck with little kids during the stifling heat of summer. Maybe as a punishment…"Nah. He hates leaving the house."

Mr. Kato frowned deeply, and Maou wondered if he was really _that_ concerned about Urushihara's "potential."

"It's just that…Urushihara seems so much…smarter than all of the other kids." The teacher countered. "Who knows? He might find that he loves the program."

Maou had to stop an outright laugh from that one, and he scrambled to find a good excuse. "It's not like I could afford it anyway. I work as a Part-Timer over at the MgRonalds by the Hatagaya Station."

Mr. Kato furrowed his brow. "Does Mr. Ashiya work there as well?"

Maou was filled with curiosity about why Mr. Kato cared, but he couldn't see any harm in answering. "No, he stays home with Urushihara most of the time, but sometimes goes to the library or supermarket."

When Mr. Kato opened his mouth again, the "routine meeting" began to feel more like an interrogation. "Do you normally get a babysitter for Urushihara?"

Maou began to answer without thinking. "Of course not, Urushihara's old enough to…" He then realized his mistake and backpedaled. "He stays home alone."

Maou watched with some amusement as most of the blood drained from Mr. Kato's face. It still surprised him how caring humans could be.

"Are you sure that's healthy to leave a toddler alone?" Mr. Kato finally gasped.

Once again, Maou wished he hadn't spoken as he scrambled for an excuse. "It's better than him staying with Ashiya. They can't stand each other. I think Ashiya even tries to find excuses to get out of the house." He was aware that he was rambling, but still had no idea how to make the ridiculous situation any more normal.

Frowning, Mr. Kato asked, "What do _you_ think of Urushihara, if I'm not being to forward?"

Maou laughed out loud at that question. Clearly, the meeting was not held for the reasons Mr. Kato gave. He still couldn't find anything wrong with answering honestly, though, so he mulled over the question a little before answering.

"Well, to be straightforward, he's a pain." That much was simple. "Lazy, unhelpful, always complaining…" A sort of nostalgia came over Maou as he remembered the shining general Lucifer. "He used to be so much better when I just ordered him around!..." Not quite the message he meant to get across, but it would do.

Mr. Kato opened his mouth, but Maou wasn't finished.

"It's true that he does research for me when I ask," King Satan continued, and he began to realize parts of Urushihara he'd never acknowledged. "And he did save Chiho's and Emi's lives that one time, and went on to stop Olba." Urushihara's tracker had been vital in finding where Sariel took Chiho and Emi, and who knew what Olba would have done left on the rampage.

Mr. Kato cut in after that, and Maou realized he was still speaking aloud. "Wait, he saved people's lives? How old is he again, to be stopping people?"

"I meant…it was a friend's birthday, Chiho, that's right," Maou looked around for inspiration, and his eyes stopped on a box of crayons on one of the empty desks. "Emi was in charge of decorating a poster, but got…sick. Urushihara decorated for Emi, and Chiho loved it!"

"And he 'stopped' someone?" Mr. Kato prompted when Maou finished speaking.

"Oh, right," Maou sheepishly responded. He'd been hoping Mr. Kato would let that go. "Olba is Urushihara's uncle. He was going to eat cake before Chiho was ready, and that would have been a disaster." Each word was spat out, but as the sentence went along, Maou began to feel more comfortable with the lie.

"So how old is Chiho? Is she in preschool, too?"

Maou realized he'd made Chiho sound childish and internally facepalmed. "No, she works with me at MgRonalds," he said breezily as his insides clenched.

Mr. Kato raised an eyebrow but let it slide.

The rest of the meeting was much more dull: Mr. Kato suggested different summer camps and even offered to tutor Urushihara if they would want. Maou acted like he was listening, but fled as soon as possible.

Both of them were horrified as they went home that afternoon.

…

What did Mr. Kato think of the meeting?

What happens when Chiho and Emi have to pick Urushihara up from school?

Will Urushihara ever get his body back?

…

You'll all find out as soon as I do :P

I'll try to write more and update soon!


	7. Devil's Time is Saved by Friendliness

Thanks for the reviews!

I Write Stories Sometimes (sorry your name isn't fully accurate-the document refuses to save it correctly): For some reason (pretty much my rush), I didn't see your review for last chapter. Now that I'm reading it, though, I'm laughing super hard. "Daddy Maou" just made my day, so thanks!

3mee: I also didn't see your review, sorry. The mystery of getting Urushihara a cure will begin to clear up soon…

Reader: Ok your review was one of the most inspiring I have seen. I am so happy that you like this story, and here's a soon-ish update :)

PineconeQueen: Glad to know my writing gives people feels :P Enjoy the Chiho and Emi scene! (I totally missed seeing your previous review, so sorry for not responding! And thanks for reviewing again regardless!)

BloodiedCoreOfHope: Logging in is overrated anyway. It's awesome that you think nobody's too OOC, thanks!

Blackthorn Ashe: That suggestion is actually really amazing, and you'll find it in this chapter! Thank you for the brilliant idea!

pikaree1: I can totally relate with checking your email for updates! Well, this time, your email did not disappoint :)

…

As the preschoolers filed out for recess, Mr. Kato had some time to mull over the meeting. Normally he would worry for Urushihara at this time, but now he just felt…empty. There was no proof that he could even take to the police. There was nothing he could do.

Meeting Maou and learning more about Urushihara's home life had short-circuited the teacher. There were far too many horrors and new ideas for Mr. Kato to process. He didn't even know where to begin.

Both of Urushihara's guardians seemed to dislike him immensely, to the point where he was left alone at home. Apparently, he also "hates leaving the house," but Mr. Kato suspected that the toddler was more of a prisoner.

 _Well, if nothing else,_ Mr. Kato thought as he watched the kids play, _I guess I'll just keep a closer eye on him from now on._

…

Ashiya was at the library of a neighboring town when his phone rang. "Sire?" he asked in surprise.

Maou's voice came pouring through the phone. "I messed up big time. I'm at MgRonald's all day today—I didn't think and I accidentally scheduled a shift for right now."

Ashiya blinked. "But Urushihara needs to be picked up in half an hour."

"That's the reason I called." Maou laughed sheepishly. "Could you pick him up today?"

Closing his book with an irritated snap, Ashiya realized why he had figured coming to this particular library in search of new material was a bad idea. "Rush hour is now. Unfortunately, if I hurried back, I would still be late."

A new voice came over the phone. "Mr. Maou?"

"Yeah, Chi?"

Ashiya wondered whether or not to hang up, but decided to stay on the line just in case.

"If you wanted, I'd be happy to pick up Urushihara. I was just about to leave," Chiho offered.

Ashiya knew he had to speak before Maou agreed. "Sire, if I may, are you sure that nothing will happen to Urushihara if he is out in the world with no protection?"

"I guess," Maou agreed. There was a pause, then he grudgingly added. "I guess it's time to call Emi. Even though she's a complete pain, and a good-for-nothing irritant who's always in the way, and my complete enemy—not to mention that she…"

 _That_ was when Ashiya hung up.

…

Urushihara was super irritated when his day at preschool ended. Acting like a little kid was hard, even if he'd gotten kind of used to it. And to make things worse, Rei had sat down on his carpet square. Everyone knew that the purple square in the corner was his!

"Is not!" Rei taunted, not moving.

"Is too!" Urushihara crossed his arms.

With a jolt, he shook himself and found a different carpet square. "I think spending time with these little idiots is messing me up," he muttered to himself.

Luckily, the bell distracted him from his horrible thoughts.

Unluckily, neither Maou nor Ashiya walked in with the other parents. The hero and burger-flipper did.

Chiho immediately squealed, ignorant of the guarded way the teacher was watching her. "Mr. Maou told me about you, but I didn't think you'd be so cute!" She rushed over and tried to hug Urushihara, which he evaded.

Emi stalked over behind Chiho, clearly irritated about being there. "Don't spoil him just because he's small."

Urushihara glared at her.

"You still hate him, Miss Yusa?" Chiho sounded interested.

Emi shook back her hair. "I can't just forgive him!"

"I am standing right here you know."

Unfortunately, neither Emi nor Chiho paid Urushihara any attention as they continued their conversation.

"You don't know him like I do." Emi continued haughtily. "He's horrible."

The sound of someone spluttering turned their heads, but when they saw the teacher was just choking on water, all three people turned back.

Urushihara was the first to speak. "Then why'd you give me crayons?" He tried to sound more biting, but in a toddler's voice, it was kind of pathetic.

Emi's cheeks burned bright red. "Shut up! I told you, Maou made it sound like you were dumber!"

Urushihara knew that Maou hadn't told Emilia the Hero that his brain was unchanged, but he still snorted, feeling triumphant of getting a rise out of Emi. "Of course he did." Even he couldn't tell if his words were sarcastic or not.

Chiho butted in. "Don't say that about Mr. Maou! He is very absentminded. Maybe if it was Mr. Ashiya…"

Urushihara smirked as he looked up at her ( _why were little kids so short_ ). "Yeah, he hates me. Pretty sure they both do."

Frowning, Chiho once again stood up for Satan. "Mr. Maou lets you stay with him!"

Emi was the one to argue next. "I doubt _he's_ capable of any positive feelings."

Although Urushihara was no longer serving under Maou, he still felt the need to retaliate. "I doubt _you_ are, cou egil teko." Without realizing it, he slipped into Ente Islan. "Htij ij sujh lire zayr in Enhe Ijla ften, ften cou rillex pe." It was still hard for him to talk about, but he plowed through anyway as Emi scowled, Chiho cocked her head, and Mr. Kato raised an eyebrow. "Cou alfacj tage ho injulh Rinv Jahan, egen htouvt te ij jhkonvek htan cou'x egek tome ho ze!"

Emi bristled, and automatically responded also in Ente Islan. "Cou'ke one ho halr, NEEH!"

"Don't stoop to his level, Miss Yusa!"

Unfortunately, Emi didn't pay any attention to Chiho as she continued her rant. "In wayh, cou'ke fokje htan tip! Ah leajh te ayhuallc fokrj ho yonquek hte foklx!"

Surprisingly enough, Mr. Kato cleared his throat and walked over, stopping Emilia in her tracks. "Would it be better if this young woman just took Urushihara home?" he asked in an overly polite tone. "It seems as though you two need some time away from each other."

Urushihara pretended to study the room as the last students floated out to hide his amusement.

As Emi spluttered, Chiho spoke up. "Nice to meet you, Mr…"

"Kato."

Chiho smiled. "Mr. Kato. I'm Chiho Sasaki, and I'm a friend of Mr. Maou's!"

Mr. Kato visibly reddened. "Ah, yes, he has told me about you."

"I'm Emi Yusa," the hero added, having regained her composure. "And sorry about just now, Urushihara and I got a little…carried away."

"No worries," Mr. Kato replied, but there was a strange look in his eyes.

"Well, I don't want to be stuck here any longer than I have to," Urushihara mumbled when the silence grew.

"Fine. It was nice meeting you!" Emi said winningly. However, the act was broken slightly as she mumbled, "It's your fault that you're here in the first place."

Mr. Kato felt his mind explode that night.

…

I hope you liked this chapter!

For the Ente Islan, here's the translation code I used:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

AZYXEWVTISRLPNOMQKJHUGFDCB

And here are the translations from the story:

cou egil teko: you evil hero

Htij ij sujh lire zayr in Enhe Ijla ften, ften cou rillex pe: This is just like back when, when you killed me

Cou alfacj tage ho injulh Rinv Jahan, egen htouvt te ij jhkonvek htan cou'x egek tome ho ze: You always have to insult King Satan, even though he is stronger than you'd ever hope to be

Cou'ke one ho halr, NEEH: You're one to talk, NEET

In wayh, cou'ke fokje htan tip! Ah leajh te ayhuallc fokrj ho yonquek hte foklx: In fact, you're worse than him! At least he actually works to conquer the world.

Anyway, MLEAJE KEGIEF!


End file.
